First, let’s tackle the SEO fundamentals. Here’s where you’ll learn about the tools and plugins you’ll need to rank in search engines.
1. Setup The Google Search Console
The Google Search Console is a VERY powerful free SEO tool.
This tool is designed to help you track your site’s performance in Google search.
That’s why the Google Search Console is packed with useful features, like:
In short: if you’re serious about SEO, setting up the Google Search Console is a key first step.
2. Install Bing Webmaster Tools
Next, setup Bing Webmaster Tools.
Is Bing as popular as Google? No. But up to a third of all searches are done on Bing. So it’s worth optimizing for.
Plus, Bing Webmaster Tools has some nifty features, like a built-in keyword research tool.
3. Setup Google Analytics
Google Analytics is the BEST way to see how people find (and use) your site.
Its many helpful features include:
Pro Tip: Connect Google Analytics with the Google Search Console. When you do, you’ll see helpful SEO information from inside of your Google Analytics account.
Here’s a resource that will walk you through the steps.
4. Install Yoast SEO (WordPress Users Only)
Yoast is the most popular SEO plugin on the planet.
And for good reason.
Yoast makes it super easy to optimize your WordPress site for search engines.
It also helps you with technical SEO stuff, like robots.txt and sitemaps. Recommended.
Keyword Research Checklist
Keyword Research is the foundation of SEO. So it’s important to do keyword research the right way. And in this checklist I’ll show you how to quickly find keywords that your customers search for.
1. Discover Long Tail Keywords With “Google Suggest”
This is one of the best ways to uncover long tail keywords.
Here’s how it works:
First, type a keyword into Google.
But don’t press enter…or the “Google Search” button. Instead, check out the keywords that Google shows you:
Go to the following link
https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo/growing-popularity-and-links
(These are known as “Google Suggest” keywords)
Because these keywords come straight from Google, you KNOW that people are searching for them.
Which means that they’re great keywords to optimize your site around.
Pro Tip: Check out Keywordtool.io. This tool scrapes Google Suggest keywords, which makes this process much easier to scale.
2. Find Solid Keywords In The Google Keyword Planner
The Google Keyword Planner is Google’s official keyword research tool.
It’s technically designed for Google Adwords. That said, it’s still VERY useful for SEO keyword research.
After all, the data comes straight from Google. So you know that it’s super accurate.
https://ahrefs.com/blog/google-keyword-planner/
3. Tap Into Online Communities
Reddit, Quora, forums and other online communities are excellent places to find keywords.
And I recently created a video that shows you how to find untapped keywords in these communites (step-by-step).
4. Identify Low Competition Keywords With KWFinder
KWFinder is a freemium keyword research tool.
What makes KWFinder unique is that it gives you TONS of data on each keyword.
As you can see, when you type a keyword into KWFinder, you get information on:
That way, you can choose low-competition keywords that are easy to rank for.
5. Find “Question Keywords” With ATP
Question Keywords are PERFECT for blog posts and articles.
(For example: “How do you make cold brew coffee?”)
But how do you find them?
This free tool shows you questions that people search for online.
That way, you can answer these questions with your content.
On-Page SEO Checklist
Now it’s time to optimize your content using a handful of tested on-page SEO techniques.
1. Include Your Keyword In Your URL
Your URL helps Google understand what your page is all about. And a keyword-rich URL can improve your organic CTR.
2. Use Short URLs
Keep your URLs as short as possible.
Why?
A recent analysis of 1 million Google search results found that short URLs rank best in Google.
3. Front-Load Your Keyword In Your Title Tag
It’s no secret that you should use your keyword in your title tag.
But not as many people know that WHERE you put your keyword matters.
Specifically, you want to put your keyword in the front of your title tag.
ERPs…
So, now you understand what a title tag is and how it’s important, let’s talk about how you can craft a good one
Don’t confuse this with the title that’s visible in the tab of your browser—this is the title tag.
So, now you understand what a title tag is and how it’s important, let’s talk about how you can craft a good one.
4. Embed Title Tag Modifiers
Title Tag Modifiers are words and phrases to add to your title tag.
When you do, your page will rank for lots of long tail keywords.
Here’s a video that walks you through this process:
5. Use Your Keyword Once In The First 150 Words
Google puts more weight on the first 100-150 words of your page.
So make sure to use your keyword once here.
Google has stated that using an H1 tag “helps Google understand the structure of the page”.
Most platforms (like WordPress) automatically add the H1 tag to your blog post title. If that’s the case, you’re all set.
But that’s not always the case. You want to check your site’s code to make sure your title is wrapped in an H1. And that your keyword is inside of that H1 tag.
Wrap Subheadings in H2 Tags
Include your target keyword in at least one subheading. And wrap that subheading in an H2 tag.
Will an H2 tag make or break your on-page SEO?
Nope. But it can’t hurt. And my own SEO experiments have shown me that wrapping your target keyword in an H2 tag can make a dent.
Here’s an example of this strategy in action (target keyword=”content marketing tools”):
Keyword Frequency
Keyword Frequency is just like it sounds: It’s how many times your keyword appears in your content. Google may deny that using the same keyword multiple times helps. But SEO pros with experience will tell you that it definitely works.
Think about it this way:
Imagine that you have a page that Google THINKS is about a specific keyword. But that keyword only appears once on the page.
How confident can they be that the page is about that keyword? Not very. On the other hand, if the page mentions the keyword 10 times, Google can be more confident about that page’s topic.
To be clear:
This isn’t about keyword stuffing or anything like that.
It’s simply mentioning your target keyword a few times to confirm to Google that your page really is about that topic.
6. Use Your Keyword in H1, H2 or H3 Tags
Make sure to include your keyword in H1, H2 or H3 tags.
How to use the h1, h2 and h3 tags
While your header tags do extend to h4, h5 and h6, we’re only going to focus on the first three since these are the tags that carry the most SEO value. Now, you can’t just go insert your header tags anywhere and expect to see results. Header tags have their own place on a page and have to be used in a proper order starting with your h1.
The h1 tag should contain your targeted keywords, ones that closely relate to the page title and are relevant to your content. The h2 tag is a subheading and should contain similar keywords to your h1 tag. Your h3 is then a subheading for your h2 and so on. Think of them as a hierarchy based on importance, the above being more important than the below.
Keep in mind that it’s also very import that your header tags are readable and grammatically correct. Stuffing your h1, h2 and h3 with keywords is not going to help your cause. If anything, Google will recognize this and assume you are trying to manipulate them — that’s a no-no!
An Example of how to use h1, h2, h3 header tags
This post or blog is actually an example of how to use your header tags. See below:
As you can see, I used my h1 to capture the overall theme of the post since it represents what’s most important. I then used my h2 as a subheading to reinforce my h1 and overall theme. The same can be said about my h3 and how it relates to my other headings and overall theme.
Header tags are a key component to SEO and can help improve your rankings on the search engines. Check your pages now and see if you’re using your h1, h2 and h3 correctly!
7. Optimize Images
The images you use say a lot about your content.
Unfortunately, Google is really bad at reading images.
So to help them understand your images, you want to optimize your image alt tags and filenames.
(As a bonus: optimized images also helps you rank in image search)
Here’s how:
First, when you save the image, use a filename that briefly describes what that image is.
For example, let’s say you just took a picture of an spinach omelette with your iPhone.
Well, you’d want to name that image something like:
Then, when you add the image to your page, give it a descriptive alt tag.
I like to use lots of alt text so Google can fully understand what my image is:
That’s all there is to it.
8. Use Synonyms and LSI Keywords
Back in the day, it made sense to “keyword stuff” your page.
Not anymore.
Today, Google is smart.
So instead of using the same keyword 1000 times, use synonyms and LSI keywords.
For example, let’s say you want to rank for “how to start a blog”.
Well, you’d want to mention that exact keyword a few times on your page… and synonyms like:
You get the idea
Next, add some LSI Keywords.
LSI Keywords are terms that go along with your main keyword.
You can find a bunch of these using LSIGraph.com.
Then, just add a few of these LSI keywords to your page. And you’re set.
9. Use External Links
Make sure to link out to 5-8 authority sites in your article.
For example, in this list of SEO techniques, I link to trusted websites like Wikipedia and Google.com.
And those links show Google that my content is well-referenced and trustworthy.
10. Use Internal Links
This is super simple:
Whenever you publish a new piece of content, link to 2-5 other pages on your site.
Pro Tip: Use keyword-rich anchor text in your internal links.
For example, note how I use the anchor text “on-page SEO”, in this internal link:
For example, here’s an internal link on a page from my site:
That anchor text helps users AND Google understand that the page I’m linking to is about “Mobile SEO”.
This tells search engines that the page I’m linking to is about: “on-page SEO”.
Technical SEO Checklist
Technical SEO can make or break your rankings. Fortunately, fixing technical SEO problems isn’t that hard… especially if you follow the items on this checklist.
1. Identify Crawl Errors
A “Crawl Error” means that Google has trouble viewing a page on your site.
And if they can’t view your page, it’s not gonna rank for anything.
You can easily find Crawl Errors in the Google Search Console’s “Coverage” report:
If you notice Google is having trouble accessing one of your important web pages (for example, robots.txt is blocking search engine spiders), you’ll want to get that fixed ASAP.
2. Find Out How Google Views Your Page
Sometimes users can see everything on your page…
…but Google can’t.
Again:
If Google can’t fully access your page, it won’t rank.
That’s why I recommend using the Google Search Console’s “Inspect URL” feature.
Just enter a page from your site at the top of the GSC.
When you do, you’ll see your page from Google’s point of view:
3. Make Sure Your Site is Mobile-Friendly
Google recently launched a new “Mobile-First Index“.
Which means:
If your site isn’t mobile optimized, it’s not going to rank very well.
Fortunately, you can easily see your site’s mobile friendliness with Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test.
Just pop in a page from your site… and get a clear “yes or no” answer.
4. Fix Broken Links
Broken links can REALLY hurt your SEO.
So you definitely want to find broken links… and fix them.
The easiest way to do that? DrLinkCheck.com.
It’s a free tool that scans your site for broken links:
Broken links are not good for SEO
5. Secure Your Site With HTTPS
HTTPS is a confirmed Google ranking signal.
So if you haven’t already, it’s time to move your site to HTTPS.
(Or if you just launched a new site, set it up with HTTPS on day 1)
Here’s a guide to help you migrate your site to HTTPS… without hurting your SEO.
6. Check Your Site’s Loading Speed
Does your site load insanely fast?
If not, your site isn’t going to rank as well.
That’s why you want to head over to PageSpeed Insights.
This free tool lets you know how quickly your site loads for desktop and mobile users:
Content Checklist
There’s no denying it: if you want to rank in Google, you need to publish great content. That’s why content is now a BIG part of any modern-day SEO strategy. And in this section I’ll show you the exact steps to creating the type of content that ranks in 2020 (and beyond).
1. Create Amazing Content Using “The Skyscraper Technique”
The Skyscraper Technique is a powerful formula for publishing amazing content.
In fact, I used this technique to double my search engine traffic:
Here’s the 3-step process:
Obviously, I don’t have room to go into more detail on these steps here.
So if you want to learn more about The Skyscraper Technique, here are two helpful resources:
2. Chunk Your Content to Maximize Readability
No one likes reading giant walls of text:
3. Cover Your Page’s Topic In-Depth
Content that ranks best in Google tends to cover an entire topic in-depth.
I could have published a lame piece of content like: “5 Tips for Video SEO”.
Instead, I created a guide that covered EVERYTHING about that topic.
And that’s the main reason that it ranks in the top five in Google for my primary keyword:
4. Use Schema Markup
Schema markup helps search engines understand your content better.
In fact, Google recently went on the record to say that Schema can help your rankings.
With that…
Implementing Schema can be tricky.
That’s why I recommend Google’s Structured Data Testing tool.
6. Use Multimedia
Industry studies (like this one) show that using multimedia can help you rank in Google:
For example, you might notice that this post contains LOTS of images.
I do this for two main reasons:
First, it just makes for better content.
Second, images and other forms of multimedia help content rank better.
So I recommend using these forms of multimedia in your content:
Link Building Checklist
When it comes to SEO, link building is KEY. In fact, Google recently confirmed that backlinks are one of their “top 3” ranking signals. Unfortunately, building links isn’t easy (that’s why most other SEO checklists skip this step). But if you want to rank in Google, links are a must. And in this section I’ll show you how to do it.
1. Build Powerful Backlinks With Guest Posting
Guest posting is an AWESOME link building strategy.
That said:
There’s a right and wrong way to guest post.
Right way: Publish your guest post on respected sites in your industry.
Wrong way: Publish guest posts on any website that has a “write for us” page.
In fact, I only guest post on sites that will send me targeted traffic.
For example, I published this guest post on the Buffer blog:
